


A Warm Welcome

by Katiebug445



Category: Supernatural
Genre: I haven't written Sabriel in over a damn year so this is probably bad but i don't care, I promise the Free! fic is still going on i'll explain more later, M/M, Sabriel - Freeform, Season/Series 13 Spoilers, THE QUEEN HAS RETURNED AND I'M RECLAIMING MY THRONE, coda fic, especially concerning episode 17, it's four in the morning and i'm Sad and Excited, this is self indulgent af and i don't care let me live, this isn't edited bc it's four in the fucking morning and im exhausted so fight me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 04:14:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14228997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katiebug445/pseuds/Katiebug445
Summary: Gabriel is taken back to the bunker and given some expert TLC by Sam.





	A Warm Welcome

How long had it been since he’d seen the sunshine? How long had it been since he’d seen people aside from the demon who tortured him? How long, indeed. 

 

Gabriel sat in his cell, eyes fixed on the wall beside him, and counted down the seconds until his Grace would be drained again. He could still feel the needle pricks in his neck, and he pushed out with his powers, trying in vain to heal them. 

 

His well was nearly completely tapped out. 

 

He let his head fall against the cold stone and closed his eyes, wondering if it would be possible to end his own suffering in one last act of rebellion. He had nothing left inside of him but a tiny spark, one tiny little spark that still burned for something. Someone. From some other time. Some need to keep fighting so he could return. 

 

He just couldn’t remember who or when or what exactly. 

 

Gabriel was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of approaching footsteps, and he involuntarily curled in on himself, hoping to make his body as small as possible in hopes of disappearing. He flinched away from his cell door opening, waiting for the inevitable and the draining of his last bit of remaining Grace to be sucked from him. But it never came. 

 

Gabriel looked up, seeing the man, the human who was working for the Discounted Colonel Sanders, standing over him, and he shrunk just a little bit more. The man was saying something to him, but he couldn’t respond. Couldn’t do much of anything, really. 

 

Then hands were on him. He tried to cry out, but all that escaped was a strained and muffled protest that did nothing to help his case. Ketch’s hands were firmly on his arms, and though he struggled, the man wasn’t budging. “We’re escaping,” he said. 

 

Escape? 

 

This had to be a trick. It  _ had _ to. There was no way he was getting out of here alive, he knew that. He’d resigned himself to it a long time ago. Still, though… 

 

Ketch led him outside, into a car where he was stuffed into the back seat, and they were off. He was really getting out of there… 

 

He had no idea where the man was taking him, and he couldn’t ask, and that scared him to death. A dark part of him raised the worry that he was being taken somewhere worse, somewhere that wouldn’t hesitate to kill him on sight, and Gabriel began looking for a way out. Quietly, he tried the door handle only to find the childproof lock on. The window met the same conclusion. If he were at his full power, he could have broken the glass and climbed out; it wouldn’t be as though he could be hurt by the fall. And even if he was, he could have just healed himself no problem. 

 

Now, though… 

 

Gabriel leaned back against the seat and pulled his legs up close to his chest, sending a prayer to his father that everything would be okay. That he really would be free. 

 

~~~

Ketch pulled up in front of a building Gabriel had never seen before. There were symbols around that some corner of his mind knew, but he couldn’t think of what they were. He didn’t move until the door beside him opened, and he was forced out, his bare feet crunching on the gravel under them, cutting them and making them bleed worse than they already were. His first instinct had been right, then, hadn’t it? This really was the end. Those sigils had to mean death was waiting for him. 

 

He was led inside, down a staircase, and into a room with a giant table in the center. Eyes darting around, there was something… almost familiar about it all. Something he couldn’t quite recall, but was itching at the back of his head like a flea on a dog. 

 

Gabriel could hear voices, too. Familiar voices. Friendly voices. He knew that much from his far away memories that he couldn’t quite conjure up. 

 

He was left waiting in the shadows, off to the side, while the voices argued. Definitely familiar, he knew. He could almost see faces to go with them, almost hear a name, or a feeling, or something he could attach to it. Especially the second one. Something warm blossomed in his chest when that voice spoke, although he wasn’t sure what exactly. 

 

He just knew he’d felt that before, and it was something good. Something great, actually. 

 

Gabriel tried to focus on what they were saying, but he couldn’t exactly make himself. There was something bubbling up, something that he was so close to remembering that he couldn’t stand it, and he wanted to reach out and grab it and cling to it for all it was worth. It would be something. 

 

His arm was grabbed, and as he was pulled into the light, something hit him like a car crash; so sudden he couldn’t make sense of it, and so hard that it nearly knocked the wind from his lungs. 

 

_ Sam.  _

 

Those hazel eyes. That face. Those lips. He’d spent many nights studying them from afar, he’d spent months listening to them beg and plead for mercy, for a second chance, for anything at all. He’d spent even more time kissing those lips after a truce had been called. He’d fallen for everything the taller man had to offer him, and that tiny spark that was in his chest burst into a raging fire again. 

 

He loved Sam Winchester, and at one time, Sam had loved him back. 

 

Sam was looking at him, his breathing heavy and his eyes wide with shock, and Gabriel wanted nothing more than to run to him and melt into his arms like he had done so many times before in the past. But Ketch’s hand was still on him, and he didn’t exactly have the strength to break away on his own. 

 

Gabriel stood there on shaking legs for a few moments while everyone around him spoke. He couldn’t keep his eyes away from Sam for longer than a few seconds at a time, because at long last, he’d finally realized what he’d been fighting to keep going for - finally, it was right in front of him once again. 

 

After what felt like a small infinity, Ketch finally released him, and then Sam was there, his warm hand closing over one of his own, and guided him over to a chair set up by a small table. Sam eased him into it and took a long look at him. “I can’t believe it’s really you.” He whispered, the corner of his mouth twitching into that little half-smile he sometimes gave. Sam’s hand still held his own, and Gabriel squeezed it, hoping that it could say something - anything - that his mouth currently couldn’t. “I should probably take care of that…” Sam said, withdrawing his hand and leaving him alone for a moment. 

 

Gabriel whimpered as Sam left, not wanting to be away from him again so quickly after he’d found him, but the younger Winchester returned after a moment with a bowl, a bottle, and a knife. 

 

“This might hurt, I’m sorry.” He said soothingly, placing a hand on the side of Gabriel’s face to steady him while he got to work. The archangel nearly melted into the touch, having been starved of genuine affection for longer than he could remember. He never wanted that warmth to go away. “Ready?” Sam asked, and Gabriel snapped back to attention, another small whimper falling from his lips as Sam put the knife to them, trying to be as gentle as possible while he cut the thread holding them together.

 

“I… Gabe, I thought you were gone. If I’d have known you were still out there somewhere, I would have looked. I’m.. so sorry.” Gabriel winced as the strings tugged at his skin, and whimpered again. Sam paused, pulling the knife away, and whispered another apology to him. His hand slid from the side of his head to his chin, and Gabriel looked up into Sam’s eyes for the first time since he’d arrived. 

 

What he saw there broke his heart. He knew Sam was beating himself up inside for abandoning him like he had, and he wished he could speak so he could tell the taller man that no, none of this was his fault, and no, he didn’t blame him at all for what had happened. He knew that look of self-hatred that Sam was trying to hide from him, and Gabriel hated that he was feeling it because of him. The archangel reached out a hand, laying it on Sam’s thigh and squeezing gently. When Sam met his eyes, he shook his head.  _ It’s not your fault.  _ He thought, hoping that it in some way showed through on his expression.  _ Nothing is your fault, Sam…  _

 

Sam’s breath caught in his throat and he licked his lips to stall for a moment, and then held up the knife again. “Let’s finish this and get you taken care of first, then I’ll worry about apologizing.” Gabriel braced himself again, and the knife sawed back and forth, cutting the strings as Sam gently pulled them out of his flesh. 

 

When it was finally over, Sam stood again, gesturing for Gabriel to stay there for a moment. There was talk of the brothers leaving again, Sam insisting that he go with Dean, and Gabriel couldn’t hide the pain he felt at that. It seemed that the younger Winchester didn’t care for him as much as he used to. Not anymore. He was a footnote, a ghost from the past that had been painfully brought back into the present and forced upon him. Gabriel swallowed, not daring to try speaking again in fear of how his rusty voice would sound. 

 

Eventually, it was decided Sam would stay with him, and Ketch and Dean would go… wherever they were going. He didn’t care, he just wanted Sam to come back. 

 

When the two were gone, Sam turned back to him, assessing him for a moment in a way that made Gabriel feel so overly exposed that he wanted to crawl under the table and out from under Sam’s gaze. Sam held out his hand for the archangel, and Gabriel accepted it. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” Sam spoke, his voice suddenly seeming louder now that his big mouthed brother had disappeared. 

 

Gabriel was led back to a bathroom with a tub big enough that the younger Winchester could sit in it comfortably, with a bit of room left over. Sam stripped Gabriel of the rags he’d been wearing for Chuck knew how long, and eased him down into the warm water that felt like Heaven after so long being imprisoned. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.” 

 

Sam returned after another moment with a towel and a wash rag, which he carefully ran under the still-running faucet, and began to clean his face for him. Gabriel closed his eyes, feeling like he could breathe for the first time in years. He leaned into Sam, letting the younger man’s attentions lull him into a sense of peace. 

 

When the blood had been washed from his face, Sam got started on his arms, and then his back, and then finally, his hair. He was quiet while he cleaned the angel up, not knowing what to say to his love he thought had been lost. He had too much on his mind, too many things he wanted to tell him but not knowing where to start. There would be time for it later, he guessed, after Gabriel had been taken care of and rested up for a couple days. 

 

After his bath, he helped Gabriel out of the tub, and wrapped him up in the towel. He held out his hand, and the angel took it, willingly following Sam anywhere as long as they were together. Gabriel was taken into a bedroom, where he was instructed to sit down on the bed, and Sam got to work on the cuts on his mouth. “This is gonna sting.” He warned, beginning to clean the wounds. Gabriel flinched, but he let Sam take care of him for as long as he wanted. He was just happy to be there, with the younger man, again. 

 

When Sam was finally satisfied, he handed Gabriel a set of old clothes, and turned his back while he got dressed. Everything hung very loosely on him, and he guessed that the garments belonged to the younger Winchester. He didn’t find himself too upset about it, though. 

 

“You can stay wherever.” He said, turning back around. “Dean has a room down the hall, Cas has a room next to his, or you could stay here. If you want. You don’t have to, if you want privacy.” 

 

Gabriel quickly shook his head, pulling his legs up onto the mattress and staring at the other man. There was no way he was moving, not after being alone for so long. Not after he had the chance to spend time with Sam once again.

 

And there was that smile again; gone as soon as it had appeared. Sam changed, and then was sitting beside him on the bed, not saying anything yet, but wanting to be close. 

 

“I never stopped missing you.” He said after awhile. “I never stopped praying that you would come back. Every night, I prayed. To God, to you, to anybody that would listen… Just for a sign, for any little hint that you were still out there somewhere.” Sam swallowed, closing his eyes for a second, and cleared his throat. “Obviously, nothing ever happened, but I never stopped trying. I never stopped wanting you to come home.” 

 

Gabriel turned to face the younger Winchester, reaching out and taking his hand. There were so many things he wanted to say, but he didn’t know how or even if he could just yet. It had been so long since he’d opened his mouth, he didn’t know if it were possible anymore. Instead, he scooted in closer, laying his head gently on Sam’s shoulder, and hoped it would be enough. 

 

“And then you showed up tonight, and it made all the years waiting worth it. Every prayer, every sleepless night, every minute I thought I was crazy for believing… Every. Single. Second has been worth it, for this right here.” Sam smiled at him, and lay his cheek on Gabriel’s head. He didn’t know how long they sat there like that, but it wasn’t until he thought the angel was falling asleep did he make them move. He pulled away, tucking Gabriel into bed, before crawling in beside him and scooting over next to him. “You’ve been worth the wait, Gabriel. Welcome home.” 


End file.
